Let's talk: Autonomous conflict resolution for robots carrying out individual high-level tasks in a shared workspace

Abstract

We consider two robots operating in a common workspace where each can sense the location of the other. Each robot has its own high-level task, given as a temporal logic formula, which may include requirements regarding the other robot (e.g. the robot cannot enter a room that the other robot is currently in). This task is not initially shared with the other robot; therefore, the robots when operating, may find themselves in a conflict situation. In this paper, we develop algorithms that allow the robots to automatically, and in a provably correct manner, resolve the conflict, if possible. If the automated process fails, meaning that the robots cannot both perform their tasks in the same workspace, feedback is provided to a human, that would resolve the conflict (e.g. by changing the robot's tasks). The algorithm is demonstrated with simulated and physical robots in the lab.